Dragon Trainers
by Alta-Lemur
Summary: AU shounen ai and het. Night falls and the sun rises. Watch the rising and falling of love in a world of magic and dragons. (probably not going to be as sappy as the summary)
1. Chapter 1

Title: Dragon Trainers  
  
Author: Alta Lemur!!! (love the latin)  
  
Rating: err… PG-13?  
  
Pairing: J/S eventually  
  
Spoilers: none!... I think  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own. Don't make money. Don't sue!  
  
Summary: AU shounen ai. Night falls and the sun rises. Watch the rising and falling of love in a world of magic and dragons. (probably not going to be as sappy as the summary)  
  
  
  
The woods were an entity of themselves. Soft light of the evening spilled through bright living green leaves, creating a light and dark patchwork like that of a master glass maker. Numerous heavenly songbirds sung songs of delight and hope, waiting for that special little female bird to notice. Gentle brooks splashed against smooth rocks like the caress of old friends.  
  
All of this was beyond the notice of a turmoiled mind. Brows furrowed in concentration, one Seto Kaiba, journeyman dragon trainer, sat in what would be a very uncomfortable position if his mind was anywhere near his physical body at the moment. Instead he was withdrawn within himself, attempting once again what had eluded him for so long, inner peace.  
  
For a time now, Seto's disposition had been altering. His own emotional state had seemed slightly less in his own control each passing day. At the very beginning, it was just this feeling that would nag at the edges of his awareness, soon passing once he claimed sleep. It had grown until the young dragon trainer would often find himself doing things beyond his normal reasoning. The final straw had been one evening when he had snapped at his little brother. After seeing tears well up in little Mokuba's eyes at his raised voice, Seto decided he needed to eliminate whatever was changing him.  
  
And so, this was how Seto found himself taking his journeyman quest early. It wasn't as strange, since he had ended up attracting a dragon companion earlier than a child normally would have. All in all, he had close to the same amount of years as a normal dragon apprentice would have. As soon as he was able to ask his old master, a graying man with no more dragons to attend to but the only master dragon trainer in Seto's province, to look after his younger brother, he was off.  
  
This day turned out to be like every other day since the beginning of Seto's journeyman quest three months ago. He would begin by various rituals, sometimes cleaning rituals for the body and soul, sometimes strengthening rituals for endurance, sometimes the random ritual that he hoped would be the solution. All would leave him no more than a sometimes cloying smell of incense or "holy" oils. Then he would begin hours of meditation in order to stabilize his mind, search his soul, and find his center, or at least that's what his teacher had always said he should accomplish by it.   
  
The frustrated youth remembered when he first began meditating. Back then it had only made him drowsy, although eventually he had found peace a few years into his training. However, the solace found within meditation ended when his moods had altered. Since then, his inner self resembled very much his name, turmoil. It was as if a great grasping cloud of his inner mind's own making had taken a hold of his normal thoughts. So subtle in its influence, yet it obscured everything in its hold.   
  
Seto finally sighed and gave up for the day. He was no longer even physically at peace. Instead of the relaxed posture and facial mask he had been taught to wear, he showed the frustration he felt. Standing up, the aggravated youth stretched out his long limbs, hearing a few joints pop. He had definitely been too tense while meditating.  
  
Seto felt at least a bit better when he sensed the approach of his dragon companion. Almost a warm pleasant sensation at the back of his mind told the dragon trainer where his dragon was at all times. Ever since the first lessons as a dragon trainer, his attachment to his dragon companion had steadily increased. Seto knew from his lessons with his master that he would also form slight mental links to other dragons that he trained for mages and sorcerers once he became a master dragon trainer, but he was glad for the fact that he would only share the full strength of this special bond with one dragon. And he was pretty sure that she seemed rather boastful about having a human all to herself.  
  
Turning toward where he could now hear her approaching through some underbrush, Seto saw a young dragon fresh from a hunt. His beautiful Blue Eyes was rather young for dragon years, under fifty years old, but that didn't stop her from overtaking humans in height by at least two heads, and that was only up to her shoulder. Seto had witnessed once when a gang of robbers approached him at the beginning of his journeyman quest that once standing on her hind legs and at her full height, his fierce metallic dragon was pants-shitting scary, or at least from where the robbers where standing. He almost pitied the two who ended up twisting a knee and having to hop away as quickly as possible.  
  
Now his dragon companion was standing underneath those stain glass leaves, the light reflecting off of her metallic hide. She was carrying a deer in her mouth, which Seto could have sworn was formed into a grin. Before Seto had set out on his own, the most she was ever able to catch was the odd rabbit or a wild wolf that bothered local sheep. That's all that was around the village Seto had lived and trained, that and sheep that his Blue Eyes would sometimes whimper at not being allowed to catch. Now she zealously brought Seto her hunts each day, as if flaunting her amazing ability to catch such a quick footed creature and give her human companion what she thought to be the tastiest food around. She loved venison!  
  
Seto had somewhat gotten used to animals with bright red puncture wounds in their throats, or broken spines. He had, after all, been born in a small village where everyone pretty much bought their animals alive and prepared them in their own homes. In fact, after his mother had passed on, he had the responsibility to butcher the meat to feed himself and Mokuba. So the young dragon trainer simply imagined that the animals his Blue Eyes brought him were like the sheep that he had prepared in the past.   
  
'Eat the deer!'   
  
Seto looked up from the place the deer had fallen to his Blue Eyes, who had deposited herself on the ground sitting up and was looking between him and her little 'present' to her human. Seto shook his head.  
  
"How many times have I told you that I can't eat things raw?" The metallic dragon scoffed as he spoke. "Can you go find some wood to build a cooking fire while I field dress it?"  
  
Torn between being happy for the expectant meal and being grumpy over usual delay for it, his dragon obliged and got to her feet in search for dry timber. Seto sighed and got to work at preparing his and his dragon's meal. After he was mostly done with the deer, Seto began to get other food out of his pack to make something besides meat for his dinner. He found that he had enough potatoes left to make stew. He smiled and got other things out that he would need, like a spit to roast the meat.  
  
Blue Eyes returned and started to make some semblance of a stack of wood. She cleared an area with a few small sweeps of her claws and arranged the wood how she wanted it. She looked at the pile of wood a bit nervously, as if the sticks would turn into snakes. Seto felt the familiar nervousness of his dragon and went to her side. He placed a soothing hand on her flank and looked at the wood pile with her.  
  
'Calm down,' he whispered into her mind.  
  
It was a part of a dragon trainer's job to teach dragons to use their dragon's breath usefully and not just create massive amounts of chaos at every use. Blue Eyes didn't have much of a problem with her control, until one day she hadn't figured on one of Seto's smelly pouches (how was she suppose to know it was sulfur!) would be near to a log she was practicing on. Apparently Seto hadn't noticed either as he was doing some silly human thing at the time, but he was close by when it happened. He had to be for her to be able to use dragon's breath at that young an age. She thanked the High Dragon that Seto hadn't gotten more than a first degree burn on his left arm and shoulder, but she still became nervous about starting campfires, and for some reason only campfires. Blowing up trees was no problem, but the innocent little campfire seemed to mock her.  
  
She put that aside when she felt the calming balm that was the presence of Seto in her mind. At times she would picture that her ability to breathe lightning was a blue magic stone inside her head. If she let it go, it would break a lot of things. But Seto's presence was a confident hand placed on that stone, to help her take a hold of it herself. She placed her own mental claws over that icy stone of power inside her mind, and also over Seto's mental hand.   
  
She opened her eyes and calmly looked at the pile of wood. She inhaled. There was a spark in her mouth as her life force and her magic swirled about, growing and growing with the brightness of that icy stone turned translucent glass. Seto's mental hand shifted a bit inside her mind, pressing down on the stone, reining her in. She tightened her grip on the stone. Its brightness lessened somewhat and became more opaque again. The spark in her mouth was smaller now and perfectly suited to start a fire for roasting venison. She let her lightening breath fly and it landed squarely on the wood.   
  
Blue Eyes beamed. She had done it perfectly! No over burning it and no having to do it twice because it had been too small of a spark! She practically pranced in place and Seto patted her flank affectionately. He then sat down next to the fire and began cooking his stew and their venison. Blue Eyes happily plopped down next to him, wrapping her tail behind and around him in her protectiveness.  
  
Once all the cooking was done, Seto had pushed Blue Eyes' claws away from sneaking some of the half-cooked venison about five times. When Blue Eyes was finished with her meal but Seto was still spooning some of his stew away, she couldn't help but think about earlier in the day before she had caught the deer. From what she could feel over their link, Seto hadn't come any closer to solving this problem he had. It worried her because it made him have to leave his little brother, and he seemed to get more and more frustrated. She didn't like that Seto could help her with her problems, physical and mental, while she could only ensure his physical safety. If she had been an older dragon, then maybe she would be wise enough to seek the solution.   
  
The vexed dragon sighed slightly. Reflexively, she held Seto with her tail more snuggly. Seto just leaned back against her a bit more and continued with his stew. Eventually Blue Eyes decided that she could at least talk to him more about it, even if she couldn't solve it with some arcane and powerful magic like an older dragon could.  
  
'Seto…?'  
  
Seto paused with a spoon half way to his mouth and turned toward the craning neck and slightly worried face of his dragon. 'Yes?'  
  
If she were in a slightly more carefree mood, Seto would have been treated to the sight of a dragon chuckling, which sounded a lot like a low growl to anyone who wasn't a dragon trainer, at his silly expression. Or at least the young dragon thought putting utensils with watery food dripping from them halfway to your mouth was a funny thing to see.  
  
'Are you progressing any in thinking training?' She didn't know what else to call what Seto did all day. He sat around and thought. Then he would be dissatisfied with that and try to think in a different posture, or with a different mantra, or a different environment. She knew he was doing some kind of training inside his mind, so she just called it his thinking training.  
  
Seto sighed and put his spoon back into his bowl, also placing it on the ground. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back on his Blue Eyes. "No. I don't know what's wrong. I'm not even sure what I'm supposed to be striving towards. I just know that I'm not getting there." He looked into the still burning fire with a look of obvious frustration.   
  
Blue Eyes nudged his shoulder slightly with her muzzle, trying to comfort him enough to switch back into mind speech. She didn't suppose that his voice was bad for a human, low like his mental voice, but it soothed her much more to feel their link hum like a plucked guitar string whenever he talked to her.  
  
After a moment of silence, he did seem to improve. 'Maybe we should try something new altogether.' Blue Eyes looked somewhat miffed. What hadn't they tried already? However, he continued before she could question. 'I'm a journeyman. Maybe I should just act like a normal one instead of sitting in the woods meditating all the time.'  
  
Well, Blue Eyes didn't exactly know what it was journeymen did. All her mother had told her about dragon trainers was that they were nice and helped dragons, even defending them against other humans. Her mother had said that dragon trainers were the reason why dragons hadn't gone extinct in the Great Uprising so many centuries ago. But her mother had never mentioned specifics such as journeyman quests.  
  
Blue Eyes just looked confusedly into the equal blue eyes of her human companion. 'What does a journeyman do? Isn't meditating enough?'  
  
Seto sighed slightly. 'No, actually most don't bother with meditation. I just thought that meditation would be the best approach towards a problem inside me.' He paused for a bit. 'Most go from city to city, or village to village, and hone in their skills in practical applications.' Again a considering pause, 'Perhaps we shouldn't do either of these. What some journeymen also do is go from one master trainer to another. Sometimes it's considered your last pay of respect to your elders before you become their equal. A journeyman dragon trainer can approach older masters and stay with them for one or two months and they must listen to whatever that master trainer has to say to them in advice. It's a slightly older method, most journeymen like their freedom, but I think we can get what we're after if we find someone older. My old master didn't have any answers, but perhaps one that lives in a bigger city will have an answer.'  
  
Seto seemed to have genuine faith in his new plan. His face shone with new hope. Blue Eyes beamed back at him, a mere show of teeth to an outside observer. Well, at least now they had a solid plan. Then she suddenly became excited over the prospect of going to a big city.  
  
'When do we leave?!' She wagged her tail excitedly across the ground. Of all things she always wanted to see the big cities with their giant towers and huge outdoor eating restaurants that specially catered to traveling mages with large familiars and dragon trainers with their dragons. Maybe they'd even go to one by the ocean where she could see the sun rise over the giant blue expanse.  
  
Seto chuckled at the evident eagerness of the youthful dragon. 'How's tomorrow? If we wake early, we can be off before the sun rises and the traveling becomes difficult.' She seemed pleased with this as she gave a few heartfelt thumps of her tail close to Seto's proximity.   
  
The dragon trainer chuckled again and packed everything up for the night and their journey tomorrow. He had his sleeping roll out next to the dying embers of the fire and to the warm flank of his dragon. The stars were beginning to come out. The first one to emerge, as always, was the guiding star Hope. Seto whispered its name in the darkness, barely heard above the rhythmic breathing of Blue Eyes. Seto was going to take it as a good sign, that there was hope to be held, and that he would have guidance. Perhaps, if the old tales were true, his ancestors were holding the star up in heaven in order to watch him through life. He held a soft smile on his face as he curled closer to his dragon companion's warmth. Perhaps even his mother was watching him and would guide him through the next part of his journeyman quest.  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Tada! How do you like it so far? Suggestions, Feedback, go ahead. Yes, this WILL be a romance story, or at least my sad attempt at one. Take a wild guess as to the pairing. Lol. 


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Dragon Trainers Chapter 2  
  
Author: Alta Lemur!!! (love the latin)  
  
Rating: err… PG-13?  
  
Pairing: J/S eventually  
  
Spoilers: none!... I think  
  
Disclaimer: *cries* Now I feel bad for misleading people. No, I didn't come up with the term "dragon companion." I just used it to show the equality in the relationship, instead of a dominant term such as "Dragon Master" or "Dragon Tamer." I got it out of a book I bought, but haven't had the time to read yet. So technically I Do own it, a copy, but not the rights to it. Oh, I don't own YuGiOh either, but I like to think I own the rights to Seto's psyche and Blue Eyes' personality.  
  
Summary: AU shounen ai. Night falls and the sun rises. Watch the rising and falling of love in a world of magic and dragons. (probably not going to be as sappy as the summary)  
  
  
  
An ocean breeze drifted over the land, gently lulling branches and scattering bits of earth. In the early morning the sun shone down on the land with a caressing gaze, giving vibrant colors to the sky and the reflecting waters of the bay. Wispy white clouds obscured the sun for a few seconds, and then continued on in slow drifts.   
  
Lying on a sea of waving tan grass was a youth. Jou breathed in the crisp salty air. He willingly lost himself in his surroundings and allowed his mind to fill with the serenity of the scenery. His eyes were closed, but he knew that if he opened them, he'd see a blue sky tinged with oranges and reds where the sun was beginning its journey upwards. Jou loved this spot. It was a sort of a plateau, a cliff overlooking the city he lived in as well as the ocean.   
  
Jou opened his eyes then and prop himself up with his elbow to gaze toward the east. Anyone that looked at the ocean couldn't help be spell bound by it, he often thought. It went on forever, boundless. It seemed to always change, yet somehow it had a steadiness to it all. Now, when the sun was rising, it showed nothing but a reflection, as if it covered itself most when light was shone on it. But at night, sometimes Jou imagined that he could see all the dark secrets of the ocean come forth in the docile darkness.  
  
Jou sighed and turned his gaze toward the city. Domino wasn't as impressive as the Capitol or some of the cities with major Universities, but it was over average. It was mostly the trading port on Avola Bay, with a fairly good mage school. From Jou's vantage point, he could see most of the city, but not where he was living. He'd have to risk falling off the cliff to do that. Instead he found his eyes seeking the medical buildings, positioned just off of the center of the city. His sister was training there to be a mediwitch. It was no big surprise to Jou when she was accepted. She had always been taking in stray alley cats or dogs, and she always patched Jou up after some of his fights with natural ease.   
  
Jou felt a little pang of loneliness. He hadn't seen his sister for a couple of weeks now. Usually they would get together and have lunch or just go out and have fun at least four days out of the week. Lately it just seemed that they were extraordinarily busy. Jou had to watch over all the business while his master was off on some emergency, and Shizuka had been introduced into a new level of responsibilities, which meant a butt load of work that neither of them had learned to balance yet.   
  
Right now Jou especially wished that he could see to his sister. He wanted to talk to her about something. Lately it just seemed that Jou was missing something, not just the presence of his sister, but he was suddenly missing an important organ, or an arm, something. It seemed like he was looking at a jigsaw puzzle with that infamous left corner piece missing. He didn't know if Shizuka could actually help him, but he knew talking to her about it would make him feel better.  
  
He had already talked to Yugi about it. His friend had just gotten a thoughtful look for a moment and then suggested to Jou that maybe he needed a change. Hmph, what more change did he need? He was already working his butt off as it was, not to mention two years ago the biggest change in his entire life happened. He had gotten into yet another fight, except that Honda wasn't around to back him up. He was about to the point that he thought he would black out when out of the darkness of the alleyway, a gleaming black dragon swooped down in front of him, then turned to growl menacingly at the thuggish boys. Needless to say they fled with their tails between their legs. Next thing Jou knew, he was linked to a dragon companion and apprenticing at the house of a local master dragon trainer.  
  
Jou actually liked it at the dragon training grounds. It was fairly big, mostly for the benefit of the dragons, and it was real nice there. He had made quick friends with his master's grandkid, Yugi. The young mage was the warmest and friendliest guy Jou ever met. His master, Solomon Motou, was a friendly guy too. But Jou supposed that being friendly didn't stop him from being stern in his training. Solomon expected Jou to always give his full effort, which Jou hadn't been used to at the time. But despite all the work, the past two years had been the best of his life. He just felt as if something was missing… Maybe Yugi was right. Maybe he did need a change.  
  
He looked again into the east where the sun was rising. It was true morning now. The sun was fully emerged, and no doubt everyone would be rising as well in a short time. Jou sighed. He would have to see to the two diamond backed dragons first. They made a huge fuss if they weren't fed right away. Once when Jou had overslept, he had to duck under several aggressive tail swipes.   
  
Jou had stood up and was brushing himself off when something else in the horizon caught his attention. It was just a speck, but it was coming closer. Soon enough, Jou's semi-trained eye recognized the dark splotch as the outline of a dragon. As it came closer, he could make out a rider. He knew it couldn't be his returning master; the dragon was of a different breed by the look of its shape and Solomon had left towards the north. It wasn't uncommon for a mage or sorcerer to come to the city via dragon or gryphon back. In fact the plateau Jou stood on served as a natural landing spot. But despite frequent visits by dragons, Jou couldn't help but look on at the approaching pair. They were still far off, and despite traveling on the wind currents over the bay, it would still take them a while to reach the plateau. But Jou couldn't help but pray for the next detail revealed about the strange dark spots.   
  
Then Jou remembered the reason he had stood up. For some reason staying and watching the approaching visitors fought for priority with his morning duties at the dragon training grounds. He couldn't place a finger over why exactly, but something told him he needed to figure this traveling person and the dragon out.   
  
Then Jou realized that this was another one of those unexplained feelings, like his supposed need for a change. In fact, they seemed to both come from the same place within him. Jou scoffed. He had enough of these stupid feeling things. With a bit of hesitation, Jou finally wrenched his gaze away from the elusive pair and headed down a trail to the dragon training grounds. He had to squelch the urge to look over his shoulder at least three times before the horizon was blocked from site by the turf.  
  
  
  
****  
  
  
  
Blue Eyes landed with most of her usual grace on the landing site, which was really just a natural plateau overlooking the ocean with parts of it cleared and the international orange and red flag signaling a landing site. She let out an exhausted sigh and then proceeded to plop down on her haunches. The trip hadn't been extremely tough, but it had been the longest she had gone before in one day's flight. Mostly they had just stopped to eat and for a few hours of sleep.   
  
Seto let out a yelp of surprise when his dragon companion suddenly sat down. Usually she waited until he was dismounted. He rode just above the juncture between her neck and her shoulders. With Blue Eyes' long neck, it was the most comfortable position for both Seto and the dragon. Needless to say, when you're riding on a dragon's neck and said dragon suddenly goes from horizontal to nearly vertical, you suddenly remember how much you want your feet on the ground.   
  
The journeyman dragon trainer soon removed the straps holding him into the dragon saddle and got off the dragon before she decided she wanted to fully plop down onto the ground. Seto sighed gratefully when his feet touched the ground. Then he stretched out a few sore muscles. It had been a long journey. Blue Eyes decided to stretch out her wings. Thankfully Seto wasn't in her way.   
  
The dragon groaned. 'Next time, you fly us,' she said dryly.  
  
Seto gave a short bark of laughter. 'Ok, and next time you can be the one who casts the wind spells so I can fly faster.'  
  
Her only response was a scoff and some more stretching of her own. It's not like she wouldn't if she could. Dragons used Rapid magic, while most humans used Designed magic. Over all, Rapid magic tended to be more powerful, more destructive, and more chaotic, back lashing when attempted to be control. Designed magic, as far as she was concerned, was just a bunch of book reading and a few funny sounding words. It tended to manipulate nature, gently coerce it, while Rapid magic just pushed everything out of its path. Not to say that dragons couldn't perform Designed magic, but only the older dragons ever found the patience for it. Likewise, only Sorcerers were inclined towards Rapid magic.  
  
When she was done stretching, Blue Eyes looked derisively at the packs attached to her sides.   
  
'Can't I take those off yet? The straps are tugging at my scales.'  
  
Seto took his gaze off of the new surroundings to look toward the fussing dragon. 'No, we need to go into town and find out where the local master dragon trainer is. We'll probably end up staying at his dragon training grounds.' He paused as he looked at what must be the trail leading into the city. 'And I'm sure you want to stop at an outdoor restaurant to eat breakfast. On our way here, you were practically fizzing over eating at one.'  
  
Then Blue Eyes remembered her earlier excitement at the beginning of the trip. She turned to her human companion and gave him an expectant and gleeful look.   
  
'Well, let's go then! Come on!'   
  
Seto chuckled lightly and headed toward the trail into the city. No doubt that there would be some sort of business catering toward dragons and dragon trainers close to the landing plateau. Blue Eyes nearly bounced next to him, sometimes looping in front of him and then going to his other side. He was glad of this trip. Even if he didn't find the answers he was looking for, his dragon companion was having the time of her life. Well, he did hope that he would find his answers here. Seto quickened his pace to ease some of Blue Eyes' eagerness. He supposed that this was as good a place as any. Sometimes solutions came in the oddest forms.  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Da da! Yet another chapter! So are any of you on the edge of your seats wondering how the two will meet? Will it be love at first sight, an aggressive clash, or both?! Well, review and find out.   
  
Dragon Companion quote:   
  
" 'Our guest,' he hissed, smokily.  
  
" 'Guest? What guest?' mumbled Murdan the Historian.  
  
" 'The one you just ordered burned at the stake,'the Dragon pointed out." 


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Dragon Trainers Chapter 3 Author: Alta Lemur!!! (Love the Latin) Rating: PG-13 Pairing: J/S eventually Spoilers: none! Disclaimer: Technically I Do own a copy of the book "Dragon Companion," but not the rights to it. Oh, I don't own YuGiOh either, but I like to think I own the rights to Seto's psyche and Blue Eyes' personality. Summary: AU shounen ai. Night falls and the sun rises. Watch the rising and falling of love in a world of magic and dragons. (probably not going to be as sappy as the summary)  
  
Seto took another sip of his drink, enjoying the semi-quiet of midmorning. Both he and Blue Eyes had indeed found an outdoor restaurant with tables sturdy enough to feed a dragon plus room for a human. After finishing his plate, Seto was content to watch his dragon companion attempt to skin her fish without them slipping away. She was getting the hang of it, and he supposed that she enjoyed the new activity as much as he enjoyed watching her attempts.  
  
Seto saw that Blue Eyes would soon be done and looked around for someone who worked there. He caught the eye of one girl refreshing drinks. A smile spread across her face and she walked over to Seto's table.  
  
"Hey, did you need something?" she said pleasantly as she balanced her tray with the pitcher on one hip.  
  
Since she seemed to be acting so nice to Seto, he figured he could return the gesture. His lips formed into what could be interpreted as a half smile or a smirk. "I would like to know if you could tell me if any master dragon trainers are in this city and where might I find one."  
  
The waitress took a quick glance at his dragon, as if noticing her for the first time, and then took another consuming look at Seto. "Oh, you must be a traveling dragon trainer! How exciting!" She seemed to sway a bit closer to him as she assumed a thoughtful look. "Oh yeah, you go down that road, take the first right, and head toward the bay. It has a big sign with a dragon silhouette crossing a gold triangle. You can't miss it."  
  
The journeyman looked down the road she indicated and memorized the directions. He nodded slightly and turned back to the waitress. "Thank you. That's all." He turned back to finishing the rest of his drink.  
  
The waitress looked a bit disappointed but quickly shrugged it off. She smirked to herself and settled with brushing slightly against him as she walked past the dragon trainer to get to the next table. She stopped dead in her tracks when she heard a low rumbling sound. Turning, she saw that the dragon once preoccupied with eating was now growling at her with a slightly curled lip. The dragon's eyes seemed to pin her to the spot and pierce her soul searching for foul intent.  
  
Fortunately for her, the dragon trainer also quickly noticed the growling.  
  
"Blue Eyes stop!"  
  
The menacing white dragon stopped growling. She gave Seto a hurt and confused look, but then quickly trained her icy gaze back on the offender. Seto stood up and ushered the still frazzled waitress away from the reach of Blue Eyes. Upon returning to the table, the journeyman dragon trainer gave his dragon companion a displeased look.  
  
Blue Eyes squirmed a bit but looked defiantly at him. 'She hit against you. How do I know she wasn't trying to hurt you?'  
  
Seto rolled his eyes somewhat at the dragon. 'People accidentally hit each other sometimes, especially in crowded places. She was probably off-balance by her serving tray.' Blue Eyes looked somewhat reproved but still disbelieving. With a sigh, Seto added, 'just don't worry about people in this city. Seeing a huge dragon like would scare them away anyways.'  
  
Blue Eyes was a thoughtful as she took this in. Then she gave her human companion a mild glare. 'I am not huge.' With a dignified snort, she ignored the chuckle from Seto and went about to cleaning the traces of her meal from her claws.  
  
Seto left the money for the meal on the table plus a tip for the ruffled waitress and left restaurant. Blue Eyes bounded from her seat and took up stride behind Seto, the image of a protective shadow.  
  
****  
  
How did the front steps ever become so dirty? Yugi pondered idly as he swept before the door of his grandfather's dragon training grounds. So far, no visitors, or even messengers with "urgent" letters, had come to the Trigold Training Grounds for over two week, and the young mage was finding it difficult to release all his nervous energy. This was mainly because during those two weeks, his grandfather had gone off to help a colleague of his. The entire situation sounded odd to Yugi. The elder Motou hadn't said anything other than he would be gone for a week or two up north.  
  
Yugi struck the stone steps with a bit more viciousness than his normal cheeriness allotted. Really, all this was ridiculous. His grandfather went off on some errand and he was eating his insides up with worry like. an old hen. With the new analogy thought up, Yugi looked down at himself and blushed. A broom in one hand, a white apron covering his shirt and pants, and a cloth around his hair to keep dust off of the unruly spikes made Yugi resemble a domestic figure.  
  
Yugi sighed to himself and put the broom against the doorframe, taking the cloth off his head. He sat down on the front steps and held his head in his hands. Well, worrying wasn't getting him anything except maybe a few wrinkles on his forehead. He glanced at the abused broom, and some broken bristles, thought Yugi. He looked down at the swept steps. Moping wasn't doing him anything either. He sighed and decided to go inside and study, or at least stare into space with a book open in front of him.  
  
As Yugi got up and was collecting his broom, he noticed the figures that had been approaching the dragon training grounds. His excitement rose briefly before he took in all of the figures. No, he definitely wasn't his grandfather. A glance at the human's tunic proved that it didn't hold the crest of a messenger either. Well, wasn't that disappointing? Then Yugi fully took in the dragon a pace behind the human. Was that a white dragon? Didn't they come from the north?  
  
As the dragon and human pair came closer, Yugi squelched down whatever disappointment he had as well as the rising curiosity. Whatever they were there for, they were probably going to be guests for at least a few hours. That meant that Yugi, as the grounds supervisor while his grandfather was gone, would need to be hospitable to them. Not that welcoming would be laborious for Yugi, but containing his natural curiosity until both his guests were comfortable and rested might be.  
  
Finally the two were in front of the training grounds. The stranger looked up at the sign dangling above Yugi's head, confirming the gold triangle and dragon silhouette. When the blue eyes finally rested on the boy, Yugi smiled warmly at him.  
  
"Hi, welcome to the Trigold Training Grounds. Come on in."  
  
Before the other youth could give an awkward thanks, Yugi turned around to open the door wide enough for a juvenile dragon to pass through. Turning again towards the visitors, Yugi was given a somewhat weary look but the stranger passed through the doorway at any case. Yugi looked towards the dragon who was giving the training grounds a look over, whether in awed curiosity or in dubious scrutiny Yugi couldn't tell. Finally she trained her gaze on the boy. Yugi couldn't tell what it was she saw, or was looking for, but apparently she found it. The dragon turned back to her retreating human companion and followed him through the doorway.  
  
Standing in the wide entryway, Seto couldn't think of what to do but to stare at the decorations on the walls. His former master's training grounds had been much more open, with most of it being outside. Seto wasn't sure if it was the weather of this region, or if it was the inclination of city life that made people retreat everything inside stone walls. Oddly enough, Blue Eyes' bulk upon coming up behind him decreased his claustrophobia. He would have leaned against his dragon to ensure that she was there, but soon the other boy was also behind him.  
  
Yugi was already walking past him, but looked over his shoulder at his guest. "Oh, follow me this way and you'll be able to unburden your dragon, put your packs into a room, and get cozy before introducing yourself and your business." With that and another of his sunny smiles, Yugi turned and was on his way toward the guest rooms with Seto and Blue Eyes trailing his steps.  
  
A/N: Sorry this chappie is so short. I had to cut it off here to make the next one more coherent. Well, as always, read and review. 


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Dragon Trainers Chapter 4  
  
Author: Alta Lemur!! (Latinam Amate!)  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Pairing: J/S eventually  
  
Spoilers: none  
  
Disclaimer: Technically, I do own a copy of "Dragon Companion," but I do not own the rights to it. Neither do I own YuGiOh, but I like to think I own the rights to Blue Eyes' personality. Also, I'm probably going to end up stealing terms from various other dragon books. ^_^ Aw well.  
  
Summary: AU Shounen ai. Romance and angst. Night falls and the sun rises. Watch the rising and falling of love in a world of magic and dragons. (Probably not going to be as sappy as summary).   
  
Finally! With a victory whoop, Jou threw the devious scrubbing brush into a pail containing other malicious cleaning materials. Striking what Jou no doubt thought to be a victory pose, he surveyed the now clean dragon chamber. One of Jou's least favorite chores was to clean the rooms where the dragons of the dragon training ground lived, the dragon chambers. This particular room belonged to one of the messiest dragons Jou had ever met. The room had been worse than even Honda's room could get!   
  
The floor was cleaned. The dragon's bedding, in that dragon's case an arrangement of rocks into a nest, were shifted and then cleaned. Off on the other side of the room were the dragon's personal items, which Jou wouldn't touch for fear of the territorial dragon's wrath. And the doorway, magically assisted to merge with the wall when not used, was re-attached after the boisterous dragon had somehow broken it. That had taken a lot of time and some help from Yugi for the magical part of it. Unfortunately neither of them was an expert, and they hoped it would stay attached until the senior Motou came home.  
  
Oh yeah, he was definitely finished. With a great sense of freedom, Jou picked up the pail with its cleaning materials in it along with another pail of water and suds. He had opened the door and was walking out of the room when suddenly a pointy tri-colored head popped out of nowhere. Luckily the shorter one side stepped in time to not be hit by the swinging arms trying to re-establish balance.  
  
"Gah! Yugi, watch where you're going. You almost ran me over," Jou said when he finally found his balance.  
  
Yugi looked a bit sheepish for a moment, but then remembered the reason he had almost barreled into Jou. "Jou! Listen, a visitor has come by and he has a dragon. Could you prepare a room for the dragon? I need to prepare a room for the human to stay." After his last word Yugi was about to run off again when Jou caught his arm.  
  
"Hey wait a minute. What now?" Then Jou grasped onto the fact that he would have more work ahead of him. His shoulders slumped considerably as he looked at Yugi with pleading puppy dog eyes. "Tell me I didn't just hear you say I have to go clean another room."  
  
Yugi's empathetic heart ached at the look Jou gave him, but he saw no other way out of it and did not budge. "Sorry Jou, but they're guests, and they look like they traveled some way. It shouldn't take too long. The dragon is up the corridor. You can ask her how she wants her room." With that, Yugi left to go prepare Seto's room.  
  
Jou's distaste for doing more chores and feeling of duty to help dragons warred briefly in his mind. Then he gave a great sigh and walked to where the dragon waited. She stood tall with her head held high to survey the walls and inspect the creases where doors would open. When Jou came to where she stood, she finally turned to him and stared at him in that scrutinizing and steady gaze that dragons often had. It unnerved Jou, and he thought of something to say to get the dragon's deep eyes off of him.  
  
"Um, so, would you like just any room or are you claustrophobic or anything?"   
  
The dragon just looked at him more with a considering look at this question. Jou thought that she was thinking over his question, but then he remembered that not all dragons were adept at human languages. He wasn't that good at mind speech with dragons other than his dragon, Ember, but he was going to try with this one.  
  
'What kind of room do you want?'   
  
Nearly as soon as Jou thought it, Blue Eyes shook her head violently and gave a derisive growl. Jou quickly backed off before she could hit him or even bite him. When she was done with her shaking, her neck was no longer holding her head elegantly lofty, but was descended in order to give him a threatening growl.   
  
In English slurred by a dragon tongue she spoke to him. "You can't speak to me. You are a stranger who has no right to my mind. Speak to me aloud if you must." With this said she abandoned her wholly aggressive stance and assumed her former lofty posture, if a more rigid version. "And I would like a spacious room."  
  
Eyes wide with shock, Jou took a moment to blink away his fright. Then he composed himself and went to go prepare the temperamental dragon's room. Was she a psycho or something? He resisted the urge to turn around and look at her. It'd be best of he just got the room ready quickly and got the heck out of her presence. As he was arranging materials for bedding, Jou made a prayer to any god that was listening that the traveler and his dragon would be done with their business and leave soon.  
  
***  
  
Seto didn't want to be there. He ran his hand again over the plush comforter as he sat on his bed. It was better than the one he had been using while camping and traveling. But still, the soft material couldn't take away the edginess he was feeling. He didn't know if he was feeling edgy because of his natural suspicion of unfamiliar places, or if he was feeling homesick.  
  
That Yugi had been friendly enough. While the boy had been putting linen down and giving the room a good sweeping, he had talked almost non-stop to the journeyman. Seto didn't find much wrong with Yugi, but listening to his high, cheery voice and looking into the innocent and happy eyes reminded Seto too much of his little brother so far away from where he was. He had felt a very strong pang of homesickness then.  
  
Perhaps it was that Yugi saw the feelings behind Seto's eyes. Perhaps it was the sympathy in him that made him chat away about things that didn't particularly matter. Whatever it was that Yugi could sense in him, he had left Seto's room with a kind or even understanding smile saying something about letting Seto get comfortable in his room.  
  
At any rate, Seto was sitting on his bed, looking at the empty packs with all contents put away, and in contemplation of what to do next. He couldn't just stay in his room. He needed to get rid of this nervous energy, or perhaps even stomp out its cause. He wanted to see how his Blue Eyes was doing. Her presence would no doubt calm him some. Maybe he should get a look around the training grounds? Surely no one would mind his wandering.  
  
With something to do planned out in his mind, Seto went to become more familiar with this strange place.  
  
***  
  
This was definitely the worst day Jou had ever had. After he had gotten the dragon's room all cleaned and arranged, that snooty priss-priss had told him that she slept on hay, not the normal soft coral stones that nearby cliffs provided for most dragons. He would be completely exhausted by now if his anger didn't fuel him. He smelled like cleaning solution and sweat. He was definitely looking forward to a bath and then a nice big lunch.  
  
He was trudging up the wide stairs at the entrance of the dragon chambers when a figure caught his eye. For some reason, something felt odd about it and Jou stopped to look. At first he wasn't sure what he was looking at. Before him was a human, to be sure, but seemed more like a dragon or a great force of nature than anything. This person stood tall and elegant with features too precise to be real. The otherworldly effect was amplified when Jou looked into his eyes. No human had a right to have such deep eyes.  
  
Seto wasn't sure what to do. He had been wandering around when he finally found what must be the entrance to the dragon chambers. But before he even descended the large spiral steps into the large dragon chambers, or ascended to the smaller dragon chambers, he was confronted by the second stranger he had met in this house.   
  
The other boy was different from anyone Seto had seen before. Although he was covered with a thin layer of dust, Seto could see the soft features below it. His skin looked like crème and his lips created a soft line across the gentle curves of his face. His hair was like wheat tempting someone to play with the wild tresses. All in all, he seemed very inviting.  
  
Seto knew he wanted to talk to the other boy, to ask him something. But all he could manage at the time was to slowly walk to the boy. Somehow his movements startled Jou out of his stupor. Jou wasn't sure if moving in such a glide proved this other boy to be human, or if his fluidity proved him to be a sea nymph. But when the other finally came up to Jou, he noticed the crest sewed onto the other's tunic. It was the insignia of a dragon trainer, but the number of stripes told Jou that he was a journeyman.   
  
Seto was thinking of whether to ask this person his original question about his dragon's location, or if he would ask about him when the blond beat him to it.  
  
"You're a dragon trainer?" Jou asked. Then something else occurred to him and his earlier anger rose again. "Wait, is that white psycho of a dragon yours?" Jou had the accusing tone in his voice almost as soon as he had said the words. When he saw the other dragon trainer's features become stiff and cold, he definitely knew he had said the wrong thing.  
  
"If you mean my Blue Eyes, then she is not a psycho. She happens to be a refined and polite dragon," Seto said stiffly. And that was the truth. Blue Eyes' family was distinguished where she came from and her parents had instilled some old fashioned manners in her. If she had acted abrasively then it was because this other dragon trainer had rude been to her.  
  
Jou wouldn't believe what was happening if he weren't seeing it. Before him the once nymph-like boy was becoming as haughty and snobbish as his dragon. Jou scoffed irritably at the new resemblance.  
  
"And I suppose trying to bite my head off for asking her a question isn't considered acting psycho." Jou crossed his arms over his chest, assured that he was right.  
  
Seto took on a mix between a contemplative look and that of irritation of his own. "She doesn't snap at people for no reason," he said pointedly. Seto was considering the possible reasoning of his Blue Eyes. "Did you try to mind speak her without introducing yourself?" He asked accusingly.  
  
Jou was taken aback by the way Seto said something so surely as if it should have been common sense. "What are you talking about? Just because I was talking to her doesn't mean she had to bite my head off. She might as well have been a basic dragon for the way she was acting."  
  
Seto couldn't believe that this upstart of a dragon apprentice was calling his beautiful Blue Eyes one of the mindless basic dragons who were no more than animals. Seto narrowed his eyes dangerously and pulled himself to his full height.  
  
"If there is anything basic here it is you, you slob. Now get out of my way." With that Seto pushed past the offending dragon trainer apprentice, hitting the other's shoulder roughly. He would simply follow the guiding sense in his mind to find where his Blue Eyes was.   
  
Jou stared angrily at the retreating back of the Seto. He clinched his fists angrily and bit his lip since he couldn't think of something to say. But when he finally did think of a good remark, Seto's figure had long since turned the slowly winding corridors of the dragon chambers. Clenching his fist even more tightly, Jou stomped off in the opposite direction. He was having a very bad day.  
  
A/N: At this point I hope you all either hate this story or love it. If you're confused about the corridors, just bear with me. You've read, now review. 


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Dragon Trainers Chapter 5  
  
Author: Alta Lemur!! (Latinam Amate!)  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Pairing: J/S and REBD/BEWD eventually  
  
Spoilers: none  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to several books whose terminology, or names, I take. I do not own YuGiOh, but I like to think I own the rights to Blue Eyes' personality.  
  
Summary: AU Shounen ai and het. Romance and angst. Night falls and the sun rises. Watch the rising and falling of love in a world of magic and dragons.   
  
Dedications: Ahem, as Thanksgiving is rolling around, I suddenly realized that I haven't thanked anyone yet. In chronological order: Thank you Treana for telling me to write! Thank you Evil (aka Ryou, Aries, etc) for unintentionally making me want to write a romance! Thank you lumpy sitting pillow for making it uncomfortable to sit on you! *hugs pillow* Oh, and very very big thanks for Rem for betaing and giving me confident making compliments! And great thanks to reviewers and criticizers! Now go read!  
  
Jou glared scornfully at the tiny image of himself in a randomly floating bubble. Then, whether from Jou's heated gaze or from surface tension, it popped and departed to bubble heaven, leaving its siblings to handle the wrathful youth. And so Jou glared at the other numerous tinny bubbles with their tiny images and their tiny glares, increasing his anger if nothing else.  
  
Jou had decided to take a bubble bath instead of just a regular one. But instead of relaxing at the soft lavender scent and the soothing warmth, he was completely occupied by inner thoughts and images. When he tried to rest his head against the side of the tub and close his eyes, he suddenly found himself accosted by the first image he had of the strange dragon trainer, followed closely by that same young man with a more spiteful look crossing precise features.   
  
So instead of lingering on those infernal images, Jou gladly unleashed his wrath on the innocently popping purple bubbles with their equally, if smaller, glaring blonds. So absorbed was Jou in his miniatures that he didn't notice the door sliding open and someone stealthily coming in behind him until a low masculine voice sounded.  
  
'I wish I knew what was so interesting about those bubbles,' said the voice.  
  
Wide eyed, Jou spun around quickly and sloshed the speaker with lavender suds. Ember shook his snout of purple substance to look back down at the now irritated face of his human companion.   
  
Clutching the side of the tub, Jou yelled, "Don't sneak up on a person while he's taking a bath!" Then noticing the door wide enough to let a dragon as big as Ember enter was open, he promptly turned red and ducked under the water a little more. "And close that door before someone comes by!"  
  
Ember seemed a bit obstinate at his human's shouting, but he craned his neck to see the door and closed it with his tail. When he faced Jou again, he wore a mix between a perplexed and concerned expression.   
  
'What's got you so huffy?'  
  
Jou had stopped blushing but now gave a startled look before turning to the side and petulantly crossing his arms.  
  
"I am not huffy," he scoffed.  
  
Ember curled his mass around the bathtub and ended up with his head craning over Jou's shoulder. He smacked Jou playfully on the shoulder with his snout then blew cordially on some of the purple suds.   
  
'Sure you're not,' said Ember as he continued playing with his bubbles.  
  
Jou turned to his dragon and pushed on his massive jaws with his soapy hands only half meaning it. The dragon responded with his own playful nudge. Then Jou sunk his hands in the lavender foam and slopped it over a good part of his dragon's head. Before long the two were in an all out bubble bath battle.   
  
Half the room was soaking and Ember had resorted to using his tail before both were laughing so hard that they had to quit in order to breath. Ember had his head against the porcelain tub and Jou was resting against the warm scales of Ember's neck.  
  
With a minor disturbance to the bubbles still in the tub, Ember spoke, 'So what is bothering you?'  
  
Jou sighed and readjusted his position against his dragon so that he was glaring at the water. "Well, besides stupid life in general? This stuck-up dragon trainer brat and his priss-priss of a dragon is what made my day officially hell." He kicked at the water in front of his gaze in deterrent of another image of the otherworldly dragon trainer to pop up.  
  
Ember furrowed his brows. Another dragon along with a trainer had come into the training grounds, and he hadn't known? He should have been there with his human companion for such a thing. What if something had gone wrong? He mentally reprimanded himself for losing such concentration when playing with Brasher that he hadn't detected these newcomers.  
  
'What did they do? Did they try anything?' Ember asked in concern.  
  
Remembering his earlier outrage and frustration now that he had a listening ear, Jou spilled everything right down to the glistening scales of the dragon. However, he managed to evade most details about the other dragon trainer. He didn't want Ember to see too much into Jou's conflicting thoughts at this time.  
  
Ember was so caught up, though, in the descriptions of a near attack on his human companion that he probably wouldn't have paid attention to any mention of a human involved in it. He had raised his head from being relaxed against the tub to staring with mix anxiety for his human and anger towards the other dragon, and maybe some towards himself for his own absence. His growl at the end of Jou's little tale managed to pop a few surrounding bubbles and create small ripples in the water.  
  
'She did What?! I can't believe a dragon companion would act like that! Where's she from, the middle of a swamp? That nasty little metal head!' He finished the last with a good thump of his tail to the tiled floor.   
  
Jou was a little surprised at the fervor in his dragon's reaction, but he was glad to have someone on his side in the issue. With Yugi spouting stuff about hospitality to his half-spoken complaints and Honda unavailable for the rest of the week, Jou had felt isolated in his opinion. He was glad that his dragon companion had sought him out.   
  
When Ember once more settled down a bit and rested his head against the tub with a few muttered words, Jou gladly placed his weight against his dragon companion. Lazily, he watched the last few lavender bubbles pop in the water. Feeling comfortable, Jou reached out to his dragon's mind.   
  
'Hey, bud?'  
  
'Hm?'  
  
'Thanks.'  
  
***  
  
Seto ran his hand down one of the glistening scales of his Blue Eyes. When he had found his dragon companion, he had ended up polishing the dragon's scales with a leather pad and the oils from Blue Eyes' skin. At first they had both talked briefly about their new rooms, and even more briefly about a rude blond, but both had gladly lapsed into meticulous scale grooming.  
  
He was done polishing and now was content to feel the polished metallic scales under his fingers. Under his fingers, Seto could feel the slight rumbling of his dragon. He found it soothing rather than unnerving, as some people did. Most humans associated dragon purrs with growls, or even thunder cracking. Usually only dragon trainers felt anything other than threatened by dragon purrs.  
  
Blue Eyes was curled up on her carefully arranged hay bed. Seto was casually nestled behind a forearm and leaning against her flank. Her scales were cool at first touch, but warmed after a minute of sitting by her. With his dragon's purring and gentle warmth, Seto was falling into a sleep-like lull. He had just closed his eyes and consented to a short nap when the door opened.  
  
Tri-colored hair poked in followed shortly by its owner. After Yugi had made sure this was indeed the right room, he fully entered the dragon chamber. When the human guest's eyes met his, he gave a slight bow and received a nod from the seated dragon trainer. Once courtesy was dispensed, Yugi assumed a bright smile and approached his two guests. By the time he stood in front of them, the journeyman had risen and the dragon had stirred enough to raise her head enough to acknowledge him.  
  
Making sure his smile didn't falter when it wasn't fully returned by the other boy, Yugi spoke. "Oh, I've been looking all over for you. I see you've become comfortable." At this he glanced at Blue Eyes and gave her a slight nod. "I wanted to tell you that lunch was prepared," he said to Seto. Turning fully to Blue Eyes, he also said, "Oh, and if you didn't want to eat privately, you can come up and eat with us."  
  
Yugi saw the dragon tilt her head in contemplation, and he wondered if she took too much towards her dragon instincts to be alone while eating, or if she'd be more social like other dragon companions. Apparently her human companion wondered the same thing and turned to her, no doubt also mind speaking to her. Then the dragon trainer turned and started walking towards Yugi, as well as the door. A second or two later his dragon also stood and began following.  
  
Yugi smiled warmly at both his guests before turning and hastening out the door in order match the others' long strides. As the young mage lead the way through various corridors, he anticipated the coming lunch, but mostly the introductions and tales of the others' journey. Even without his grandfather there, he hoped he could be good enough of a host to make a good impression of the Trigold Training Grounds on these two. Well, unless they decided to leave a message for his grandfather and then leave, Yugi would have at least a few days to make a good impression, and to enjoy whatever company these two provided.  
  
Yugi's anxious thoughts abandoned him when he entered the dinning room. Already seated in the room was Jou in heated conversation with his dragon, Ember. Jou halted his conversation when Yugi entered to give him a grin only to have it falter and turn into a scowl when Seto soon followed. That, however, was overshadowed by Ember's menacing glower when Blue Eyes entered the room along with Blue Eyes' answering growl.  
  
Yugi cast a hesitant eye between the four others in the room. What were they doing?! Yugi couldn't have his best friend, Jou's dragon, and his guests attacking each other before they were even introduced! Yugi balled his hands into fists. This was really going horrible, and he would have to do something before dragon breathe was thrown across the room.  
  
"Hey, stop it!" he yelled between the four.   
  
Yugi noticed both humans glanced at him briefly, but then continued to lock eyes with each other. Deciding that he had to confront one of them fully, so he turned to Jou with hands on his hips just as Jou was about to say one or his remarks to the journeyman dragon trainer.  
  
"What do you think you're doing Jou? And you Ember? You're being incredibly rude for no reason!" Yugi reprimanded with one of his most stern looks across his face.  
  
Jou looked a bit flustered at Yugi's remark. Yugi was blaming him? What was he talking about? Jou cast another glance at the other dragon trainer. Was that a smirk? Jou gripped the edge of the table until his knuckles were white. Oh, no way in hell was he going to stand for this.  
  
Jou looked incredulous at Yugi. "He's the one who started it!" he said with an accusing finger toward the journeyman. Yugi's stern look just became more cross at that, and Jou could see the other dragon trainer's smirk increase. No way was this happening.  
  
Yugi rolled his eyes and gave an exasperated sigh. Taking his hands off his hips and throwing his arms to the side in his frustration, he said to Jou, "Really, Jou. Just settle down and stop being uncivil." Yugi turned to encompass everyone with his eyes. The dragons looked away, either not wanting to be attached to the word uncivil or already being familiar with glares from the small Motou. Jou looked away as well, grumpily and with some muttered words. The human guest made an effort to eradicate any signs of his smirk and took the most civil and rigid stance he could.  
  
Yugi cleared his throat briefly before addressing all. "Now if you all are done, we'll have introductions before lunch." He looked pointedly at Jou, who was still seated. With a pleading look from Yugi, Jou got up. Ember soon walked over to his human companion to stand behind him. Behind him, Yugi could hear the guest's dragon doing the same for her human companion. Well, he supposed that this was about as friendly as the four would get for the time being.  
  
Turning so that he now faced the two guests, Yugi placed his hand over his chest in customary introduction. Smiling as warmly as he could muster, Yugi said, "Hello. My name is Yugi Motou, student mage at the Consilia Magery School and temporary overseer of the Trigold Training Grounds." He finished with a slight bow.  
  
Yugi turned and looked expectantly at Jou, who rolled his eyes and locked eyes with the journeyman.  
  
"I'm Jou." He inclined his head to indicate his dragon, "and this is Ember. Nice to meet you." He said the last with a bit of a sneer.  
  
Seto took the other dragon trainer's introduction with mere iciness. As he inclined his head to stare straight at Jou, the world seemed to shrink to encompass only the two of them with dark and light shadows of their looming dragons. Seto narrowed his eyes slightly.   
  
"I am Seto Kaiba, first son of the Kaibas of Campestris Crossing and journeyman dragon trainer. This is my dragon companion Blue Eyes of Fulmen Mountains. It's a pleasure to meet you." He crooned out coolly.  
  
Yugi looked quizzically between the two humans. What exactly was happening here? He shook his head with a resigned sigh. This was going to be a long lunch.  
  
A/N: Dum da! Another chapter. You've read, now review. 


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Dragon Trainers Chapter 6  
  
Author: Alta Lemur!!  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Pairing: J/S and REBD/BEWD eventually  
  
Spoilers: none  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to several books whose terminology, or names, I take. I do not own YuGiOh, but I like to think I own the rights to Blue Eyes' personality.  
  
Summary: AU Shounen ai and het. Romance and angst. Night falls and the sun rises. Watch the rising and falling of love in a world of magic and dragons.   
  
Dedications: Thanks for the people and inanimate objects that inspired me or helped me write this.  
  
Yugi's prediction of a great disaster hadn't passed, yet. The young mage looked skeptically between the other four at the table. The two guests sat at Yugi's right, with Seto closest to him. Both were eating with a good deal of grace and refinement, as if looking down on the world. Currently, the world only seemed to encompass the two sitting across from them, Jou and Ember. The two had started the meal trying their best to ignore the guests, but soon realized they were being ignored, if not insulted, by the manners of the other two. At that point they had begun their campaign of using their worst manners possible.  
  
Yugi sighed as another piece of food found itself on the table from the messy manner Jou and Ember were eating. This meal was not going well. Maybe he should start a conversation. But what topic wouldn't set the two dragon trainers and their dragons off?  
  
While Yugi was thinking, Jou had decided on another strategy. He made sure neither Yugi nor Seto were watching him. He picked up a pea and flung it at Seto. Instantly, accusing blue eyes were on Jou. Innocently, Jou went back to gorging down food. When Seto went back to his plate, Jou picked up a bigger pea and flung it at Seto. This time a fiercer stare was fixed on him. Jou met Seto's gaze with his own intense one. Each tightly gripped the utensils at hand, silently daring the other to make the first move.  
  
"So, Seto, where exactly is the Campestris Crossing?" Yugi quickly broke in.  
  
Seto glanced towards the young mage, as if just realizing he was in the room. Slowly, he released the tight grip on his fork and responded. "It's in the Silver Plains, just south and east across the Narrow Straight."  
  
Yugi nodded and saw out of the corner of his eye that Jou had momentarily stopped his efforts in order to listen. Encouraged, Yugi continued.  
  
"That's a far ways to go to come here and an odd direction for a dragon trainer. Why not go and study in the mountains inland from the plains?"  
  
Seto was silent for a moment. How could he explain this to a stranger? "The mountains hold nothing new for us." He paused to take a drink. "Would you be suggesting that there isn't anything for a journeyman dragon trainer here?"  
  
Yugi recognized the evasion in Seto's speech and had expected it to some extent. Seto might still be uncomfortable in new company, but would eventually warm up to them. Yugi went on with his conversation, not detoured by Seto's secrecy.  
  
Jou, however, was bothered. Every evasion, every verbal side-step, every subtle insinuation was a direct insult to both Yugi and Jou. He watched as Seto coolly bantered with Yugi. Jou saw the twitching of an eyebrow, the tensing of a jaw muscle, or the clinching of fingers that plainly spoke against most of the blue-eyed dragon trainer's words. Gods, Jou couldn't stand him!  
  
"You'd think that with all the yammering you've done, you would have actually said something by now," Jou said, critical amber eyes fixed on Seto. "You can't even answer anything straight forward. Why the hell are you here anyways?"   
  
A scrutinizing gaze locked with Jou's. Slightly, those blue eyes narrowed. "That's none of your concern. My business is with your master," said Seto, looking down upon Jou.  
  
Jou slammed his fist against the table. "And what is that supposed to mean, you forked-tongued prat!"  
  
Seto stood from his seat and loomed down at Jou with his fists against the table top. "It means that someone more suited for the title of stable boy than dragon trainer should keep his stupid mouth shut and let people who know what they're doing talk."  
  
Instantly Jou shot to his feet, fist clenched and ready to punch the bastard. "And what the hell do you mean by that? Why don't you come over here and say that, you blue-eyed pansy!"  
  
Yugi was on his feet as well now. Both dragons were already growling at each other. Their tails were violently thrashing. Oh shit, why did this have to happen? Quickly, Yugi picked up the nearest thing in front of him and slammed it down on the table.  
  
"Listen!"  
  
And they stopped. He had gotten there attention? Yugi thought he would have had to break something. Yugi was about to say something else when both dragon trainers paled. Then he heard Blue Eyes make an agitated noise in her throat. Yugi turned a searching gaze towards Jou's suddenly widened eyes. Just what was happening?  
  
Yugi saw Seto turn his gaze down beyond the dinning room entryway, as if seeing past the stone. Seto's jaw clinched and his eyes narrowed in an odd determination. Sharply, he turned to Jou, giving the other dragon trainer a deep look. Then the journeyman turned to the others in the room.  
  
"Let's go."  
  
With that, he crisply walked out of the room and descended towards the lower dragon chambers, leaving Yugi in complete confusion. Turning to his friend to question him, Yugi instead saw Jou assume a similar determined face. Jou glanced at Yugi, then turned and followed after Seto's retreating form. Both dragons shuffled nervously before following their human companions. Yugi stared through the entryway of the empty room. Perplexed, the young mage slowly made his way after the others.  
  
A/N: Is this my first cliffhanger? The next chapter will probably come out sooner. You've read, now review. Latinam Amate! 


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